Demon Seed
by vindictive dragon
Summary: HieiKuwabara eventually. What's a boy to do when his entire future rests in the hands of a demon?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

It was a dark and stormy night in a small town in Japan. Mr. Kuwabara paced back and forth nervously in the livingroom. Mrs. Kuwabara had gone out five hours ago to get some groceries, and he knew it shouldn't have taken more than an hour. It wasn't really the fact that she had been gone so long that worried him, it was the fact that she was four months pregnant with their second child. She had already been having problems early in the pregnancy. Mr Kuwabara had already called the local hospitals, but she wasn't at any of them.. He didn't want to risk going out to look for her just in case she needed help when she got home. Shizuru, their seven year old daughter, sat quietly on the couch not saying a word. The Kuwabara's came from a long line of psychics, and her bad feelings had always came true. She'd had a bad feeling all day long, but remained calm for her fathers sake.

**Chapter1**

A tall woman with long, curly brown hair could be seen running fiercely through the dark forest. She was breathing heavily and was covered in many cuts and scrapes throughout her body, most of which were still bleeding. Even though she was only four months pregnant, the slight bulge on her belly was quite apparent.

She had been on her way home from the grocery store when she had sensed two very strong demons approaching her from a distance. Their demonic aura had been stronger than any demon she or her husband had ever come across before. She immediately dropped her groceries and began running .

She wasn't sure how long she had been running, when exactly the forest appeared around her, or when it had begun to rain. All she knew was that the two demons she sensed were quickly coming upon her. Mrs. Kuwabara stumbled into a clearing surrounded by massive trees, when suddenly an energy blast threw her back into one of the trunks. Her clothes were singed and she was on the brink of unconsciousness when she was roughly spun around. Two exceedingly tall demons stood before her. The taller of the two had short, dark green hair, bright orange eyes, and slightly tan skin. The shorter of the two was by far the better looking one. He had thick, dark blue hair that was almost black and went past his shoulders, but not quite the middle of his back. His eyes were the palest silver she had ever seen- the look in his eyes, just gave her the chills.

"Well, well, well," said the taller demon, "that was quite an impressive feat for a human." He spoke in a bold, mildly husky voice. "Yes." Mrs Kuwabara whipped her head around to see the second shorter demon directly behind her. His voice was much softer, but with a menacing tone.

"That was more entertainment than we have had in a long time...too bad it couldn't last." With that the demon drew the thin sword strapped to his side and drove it into her belly. Mrs. Kuwabara gasped as he withdrew the bloodied sword, then quickly fell to her knees. A strange noise drew both demons attention to a small cluster of trees a short distance away. Quicker than the blink of an eye, the taller demons head slowly slid off his body. The blue haired demon, anticipating an attack, held his sword in front of him, blood slowly dripping from the tip.The only warning he got was the slightest rustle in the trees above him.

Mrs. Kuwabara looked up- the sound of swords clashing met her ears before another demon appeared in her line of vision. A demon just slightly taller than herself stood before her. She had rather dark red hair that was plastered to her head due to the rain. Her face was disfigured, but she still held herself in a way that commanded ones attention. In her hand she carried a long and elegant blade, the metal as cold as her dark blue eye. She glared intensely at the other demon. The blue haired demon smirked and bowed in a mocking manner. "Lord Mukuro- how can I be of service?" Lord Mukuro's body tensed up with rage as she replied, "what are you doing with this human? You know it is forbidden." The other demons smirk grew wider. "My Lord, we had not realized we were in your territory. I shall remove this human and be on my way." Mukuro's glare grew fierce.

Lord Mukuro had been making her territorial rounds that night when she had smelt blood and decided to investigate. She had grown angry when she saw what the two demons had done. "The human stays." Mukuro hissed. The demon frowned, then fled. Just as he reached the first couple of trees, a blur to his left forced him to evade a fist that appeared a mere second later. The demon dodged left and right, trying to get away, but couldn't make it out of the clearing. After a long struggle, the demon was starting to get desperate. He knew he couldn't keep dodging forever, but he also knew an attack would mean his certain death. Just when the demon was about to give up, a groan from the unconscious human caught his attention. It was then he knew that to get away, he would have to attack the human. With his back to the human, the blue haired demon leaped high in the air. He quickly grasped the dagger hidden in his sleeve with one hand, then turned to face the human. So focused on the task at hand, he failed to notice the sword that was descending upon him. The momentum he used to release the dagger drove him backwards, causing Mukuro's sword to miss its original target, and slice of the demons ear instead. Mukuro cursed quietly under her breath, as she moved to intercept the dagger. Once intercepted, Mukuro looked back at where the demon had been, but saw only an ear in the middle of a pool of blood that was slowly being washed away by the rain. After making sure the demon. was truly gone Mukuro turned her attention to the human. She had passed out some time ago during the battle, and with injuries of that degree, Mukuro wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if the human had died.

Mukuro approached the human and knelt down beside her. As soon as Muruko touched her, the human let out a gasp of pain, and her eyes flew open. "P-Pl...please..," gasped the human, "save m...my b...baby..." Muruko stood back in surprise, for the human _should_ have died. Muruko focused her senses and found a weak spirit energy surrounding the woman. She thought quickly and replied, "I will save your baby on one condition. When your baby comes of age on his seventeenth birthday, then he will belong to me to do with as I please." The human closed her eyes and Muruko thought she had finally died, when she finally said, "No...hurt..." Muruko waited several seconds to see if she would say anymore, but it appeared the human had no energy left. That was fine, for Mukuro understood the message clearly. The future mother did not want her child hurt. "You have my word."whispered Mukuro, while she proceeded to put her hands on the bloodied stomach. As she poured her demonic energy into healing the human and child, the pale glow of spirit energy rose up to meet her. After a quick check, Mukuro confirmed that the energy did indeed not come from the mother. Just as the wounds finished healing, the energy left. It was then that Mukuro knew she had not made a mistake in her decision to heal the woman. With that, she picked up the human and disappeared.

Back at the Kuwabara house, Shizuru suddenly jumped form the couch and ran to the door. Mr. Kuwabara stopped his pacing when he heard a horrifying shriek come from his daughter . Moving up behind Shizuru, who stood with the door wide open, he finally saw what had frightened his daughter. On the porch was an unconscious and very bloody Mrs. Kuwabara.


	2. Chapter 2

Umm... Thank you for reviewing. This is my first story so I'm sorry if I disappoint anyone. The whole Mukuro meeting Mrs. Kuwabara thing won't make sense until later. Sorry.

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**Chapter 2.**

Several years later...

A little boy with bright orange, curly hair could be seen running through a meadow in a thick layer of leaves that covered the ground. It was fall and the colorful orange, brown and yellow leaves were gently raining down to carpet the ground below. The boy was six years old, but by looking at him you probably would have guessed about nine. The boy was much taller, and knew a lot more things that a boy his age might not know. He was naturally cheerful, but also completely oblivious to the pain his family felt each year on his birthday. To them, it was a terribly painful reminder that they would lose their little boy. Outside, the little boy was happily running about trying to gather as many leaves as he could. Once he felt he had enough leaves, he excitedly dove right into the middle of the pile. "Kazuma!" yelled a woman from the front porch, "time to go!" Mrs. Kuwabara laughed quietly to herself as her son came running towards her with orange, brown, and yellow leaves clinging to his hair. Kazuma Kuwabara stopped in front of his mom, panting loudly but grinning all the same. His mother took his hand and began walking down the road, towards the park. Kazuma was excited. Today was one of the rare occasions he actually got to go to the park.

His parents rarely took him to the park because there were other kids there, and Kazuma was not allowed to have friends. If he made a friend, his parents would tell the other child they couldn't be friends with him. On top of that, Kazuma was home schooled, so his interaction with other children was virtually non-existant. Whenever he would ask why, his parents would always say he would understand when he was older. At this point, all Kazuma really cared about was playing in the leaves at the park. The park was small, with not too many places to play. Not to many children played at this park, especially in the chilly weather of fall. Once they had reached the park, Kazuma headed off to his favorite place , while Mrs. Kuwabara found a bench where she could watch her son while she read a book. Kazuma liked playing near the trees the best. Hardly any children went over there, so he wouldn't have to go home early.

Kazuma was having the time of his life. He was no longer in the park, but in a dark, dangerous forest. His goal: to rescue the fair maiden, held captive by an evil monster lord in a secret underground tree castle. To do this he had to fight off evil monster solders with his stick sword. He would run behind trees, and roll under bushes. So caught up was he in his own adventure, that he didn't see the other boy standing there watching him until he rolled right into him. The other boy fell, and Kazuma looked back at him while scratching his head. The little boy had black hair, dark chocolate brown eyes, and a deep frown on his face. "Sorry." mumbled Kazuma, pushing himself up off the ground. The other boy just stood up and leaned against a tree, his eyes never leaving Kazuma. Kazuma fidgeted, not used to being looked at so intently. "I'm Yusuke Urameshi." said the boy holding out his hand. Kazuma shook Yusuke's hand while replying, "Kazuma Kuwabara." Yusuke cocked his head to the side. "What kind of name is Kuwabara?" he said. Kazuma's eyes narrowed. "I don't know, what kind of name is Urameshi?" Replied Kazuma. Yusuke laughed. "I think I like you Kuwabara, come on, let's explore. With that, Yusuke headed off into the trees, leaving Kuwabara (as referred to by Yusuke) to reluctantly follow him, all the while muttering under his breath about being called by his last name.

Soon, Kuwabara forgot the whole name thing as he was having way too much playing with Yusuke. They played lots of games together and rolled around in piles of leaves. Both boys stopped their playing when they heard a crunching in the leaves. Seven boys of about twelve years stood in front of the two six year olds. "That's the boy!" one of the boys shouted, pointing at Yusuke. "He's the one who stole our money!" Kuwabara glanced over at Yusuke with a shocked look on his face. Yusuke shrugged and replied, "I was hungry. Got a problem? It's not like the money was yours to begin with." Kuwabara glared at Yusuke, before another boy yelled out, "And he made my younger brother cry!" The boy was pointing right at Kazuma. Yusuke shot Kuwabara a curious look before resuming his bored expression, which was directed at the group of boys. Kazuma hadn't meant to make the boy cry. Kazuma had been playing in the leaves when he overheard a little girl scream, and had seen the little boy being mean to her. Kazuma wasn't going to just stand there and watch- he then proceeded to tell the boy exactly what he thought of him. The boy started to cry, then ran away. It wasn't his fault the boy was a sissy. "So what." Yusuke said lazily. "So what? So what! You won't be saying so what when we pound ya!" Exclaimed the bigger boy, who appeared to be the leader of the group. All seven boys surrounded the two smaller boys before a shadow emerged from behind them.

A woman with red hair approached the children, who, compared to the children, was rather tall. "Now, now boys. You don't want to cause trouble." A cold glare from her dark blue eye sent the older boys scattering, leaving Yusuke and Kuwabara standing there. The woman let a smile grace her lips when the boys ran away. "What do you want and why did you interfere? We could have taken them ourselves!" bursted out an enraged Yusuke. 'Ah. So this must be Raizen's heir. He looks like him.' "Yes. Two six year old children against seven 12 year old children. They were clearly at the disadvantage against the two of you." Sarcasm dripped from every word, her face hard from anger. Yusuke huffed angrily and crossed his arms, glaring angrily at the ground. "Thank you," was the quiet response from Kazuma. This softened the hard expression on her face.

Mukuro took her time looking the boy over. He was tall and in good health, also cute, although not as cute as Yusuke. His eyes fascinated her the most though. You could see every emotion he was feeling through those bright blue eyes- fear, nervousness, curiosity, and caution all flashed through them. She still hadn't decided what she was going to do with him yet, but she still had plenty of time. A sudden "Yusuke!" broke her train of thoughts, as Yusuke's mother called out for him. Yusuke rolled his eyes, before saying a quick goodbye to Kuwabara and shooting a glare at Mukuro. Yusuke left the tree covered area with Mukuro and Kuwabara still standing there. An awkward silence filled the air. Just as Mukuro was about to speak, Mrs. Kuwabara called, "Kazuma! It's time to go!" Kazuma sighed in relief and hurried off toward his mother. "I'll be seeing you Kazuma," whispered Mukuro before Kazuma could leave. Kazuma turned quickly in surprise, only to find that she had vanished. That one little sentence had left him shaken. Kazuma ran from the clearing back to his mother- a blue eye watching him the whole time.

Unbeknownst to the Kuwabara family, Mukuro would often leave her territory to check up on the little boy called Kazuma and make sure he was being raised right. It was to her pleasure that with each visit, his spirit energy seemed to gradually get stronger. At least she knew that she would not have a weak human.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi. Sorry but chapter 3 is kinda short. I'm not sure if chapter 4 will be short or not. Thanks.

**Chapter 3**

Shizuru awoke in the dead of night, shivers chilling her body. A quick glance at the clock told her that it was 2:41 in the morning. Drawing her nightgown closer to her, Shizuru proceeded to push her covers away. She got up and headed out of her room. She had been pulled from her sleep by a strong sense of fear, and she just knew that it was her eight year old brother who was terrified. As Shizuru made her way down the hall, the feeling became stronger. She suddenly froze right outside Kazuma's door with her hand outstretched toward his doorknob. The air was cold, much colder than the rest of the house. That meant that there was a ghost present somewhere nearby. Shizuru knew Kazuma was terrified of ghosts. Only spirits that could not accept their own deaths did not pass on. The reason Kazuma was so scared of them was that he was not only able to sense them, but he could also see them. For some reason, that attracted ghosts from all over, which was why he never slept with the light off unless there was someone in the room with him.

Pushing all thoughts aside, Shizuru entered the room with a quiet "Kazuma" escaping her lips. Kazuma was huddled on his bed, rocking back and forth with tears running down his face. "Please make him stop," filled Shizuru's ears over and over again. "Kazuma," Shizuru whispered louder this time. Upon hearing his name, Kazuma's head snapped up. His arms and chest had bruises, and fresh cuts covered the length of his body. It took him a minute to focus, but once he realized it was Shizuru, faster than a blink of an eye he was up and out of his bed and in Shizuru's arms. "Shhh Kazuma. Everything is all right now, everything is alright. Now tell me what happened." Shizuru gently rocked Kazuma back and forth, trying to calm him down. After a few minutes, the sobbing died down. Once his breathing returned to normal, Kazuma finally whispered, "It was him again Shizuru. He wouldn't leave me alone. He was so angry. Kazuma's body was shaking uncontrollably again. Shizuru wrapped him in his blankets and began to sing softly to him. His shivering died down, and eventually he was lulled back to sleep in his sisters arms.

Shizuru gently tucked her brother back into bed and sat on down on a nearby chair. Her thoughts stayed on the demon who periodically bothered her little brother. Ever since he was five, a green haired demon spirit would haunt him on an off. He once told his sister that the demons orange eyes glowed eerily throughout the dark room. Shizuru shook her head and sat there, watching her brother sleep. It wasn't until the first rays of light shone through her brothers window that she made her way back to her room and settled into a fitful sleep for the rest of the morning.

The next day...

A pair of silver eyes could be seen watching the Kuwabara house in the shadows of the trees. Young Kazuma was currently running circles around his mother, who was laughing in amusement at her child's enthusiasm. The small demon fought down the urge to just go and kill the entire family right then and there. He just knew that the boy was under Mukuro's protection. If he did anything to the boy now, Mukuro would be on him quicker than a heartbeat. That didn't matter though. The demon didn't want to waste any opportunity on account of Mukuro. He knew how he could break the boy without actually laying hands on him in one fell swoop. An evil grin slowly came over the demons face. And with a plan slowly forming in his mind, the demon disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long to up date. Been busy with lots of things. Sorry if this chapter isn't very good. Enjoy.

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Kazuma Kuwabara was excited. Today was the day Kazuma got to go to Yusuke's house. He had been waiting all week to go and now he just couldn't contain his excitement. He had been running around all day, from room to room. Then, after being sent outside, he continued his rampage without even stopping to take a break. Mrs. Kuwabara laughed lightly at her son's enjoyment. "Kazuma," said his mother smiling, "you will be too tired to play with Yusuke later if you keep running around." Kazuma stopped half way across the room and laughed, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry mom" he said. "Go see if your sister is ready yet Kazuma." "Ok" he said, he then proceeded to run right to his sister's room. Mrs. Kuwabara began laughing softly, when instantly her heart clenched in pain- as if this would be the last time she got to see him this happy again.

Kazuma walked happily down the road- with an occasional hop and skip. He was now on his way to Yusuke's house, along side Shizuru. He knew it would take at least 20 minutes to get there. He stole a glance at Shizuru, as happy as he was, his smile faded to a worried grimace. Shizuru had been acting weird all day, glancing often over her shoulder as if looking for something that neither of them could see. When asked what was wrong, she would mumble something about not feeling quite right. She was always acting as if she knew something others didn't, as most of the time she ended up being right. Kazuma noticed his surroundings and knew they were about half way to Yusuke's house. Excitement instantly replaced any worries as his anticipation kicked in. Somehow he had simply forgotten his previous worries of his sisters strange behavior.

Yusuke sat in his front yard, waiting for Kuwabara. He could remember the first time he had met him at the park that day, playing in the leaves. Of coarse that was fun for Yusuke, but he hadn't quite made up his mind if he wanted to be his friend yet. In fact, it took him a total of three more play dates for him to decide he wanted to be Kuwabara's friend. Yusuke only had one other friend and her name was Keiko, but girls didn't like to do all that boy stuff like him and Kuwabara. He didn't often see Kuwabara because he was home schooled and Yusuke went to public school. But today Kuwabara got to spend the night at his house, so they would have lot's of time to play.

A shiver went down Kuwabara's spine- he stopped mid-step. Now that he actually thought about it, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Yusuke was rough and could be downright scary at times. "Hurry up Kazuma!" he heard Shizuru yell. Kazuma noticed Shizuru was quite a ways ahead of him, and he had to run to catch up with her. He hurried in front of her then stopped and said sorry, while flashing her a big smile. Shizuru just turned her head away and continued walking. Kazuma was puzzled. Normally his sister would smile, ruffle his hair a little and tell his to stop goofing around. Something was definitely bothering his sister.

At the Kuwabaras' house...

Mrs. Kuwabara was in the kitchen preparing dinner. She didn't have everything she needed to make lasagna, but she was doing what she could until Shizuru got back from the store. Her husband was out back working on the tree house he had promised Kazuma some time ago. She glanced at the clock and knew her children should be at Yusuke's house about now. She laughed when she thought about her son's one and only friend. Memories of Shizuru's recent birthday party came to mind. Yusuke and Kazuma had wreaked havoc on Shizuru and her friend Yusuke was coming over for Kazuma's birthday in a couple of weeks and she dreaded how they would act once again hyped up on candy. Those two could be quite a handful when they were together. A sudden chill swept though her body, like ice water was being poured on her head. Her head snapped up and her eyes scanned the room. No one was there, but the chills continued to course through her body. Mrs. Kuwabara left the kitchen and walked through the living room. After a quick glance around the room, she proceeded to check the other three rooms. She walked into Shizuru's room- nothing there, next was Kuwabara's room-nothing there either, next was her own room- nothing to her knowledge was there, but she still had that feeling. She could not identify the cause that had set her sixth sense into overdrive. Walking back into the livingroom, she did not notice the shadows cast by the afternoon sun- she also didn't notice the one that detached itself from the others.

Warm breath upon the back of her neck caused her entire body to freeze. Turning with a speed most humans didn't possess, she struck at the person behind her, making contact with nothing but air. A bit panicked, she went back to what she was doing before. The feeling came back instantly. Spinning around again, fist in air, she nearly screamed finding her husband standing there behind her. Catching her fist in his hand (and nearly missing from both the force and speed of her punch), he was surprised to find her so agitated. "Honey, a-are you okay?" he asked with hesitation. Hearing her husbands voice seemed to calm her down. "I think there's someone in..." she started as she glanced up at her husband. As she did, behind her husband appeared a tall demon. All color left her face. Staring at the demon, flashbacks kept coming to her mind of the events that took place over eight years ago. The demon behind her husband had a striking resemblance. He was tall, with short spiky blue hair and eyes that were a pale gold- glowing with a mischievous glee. She opened her mouth, but before words could form, he plunged a dagger through her husbands back. Her eyes opened wide in fear, as pain coursed through her husbands body. He opened his mouth to say something, muttering a bit as blood ran out of his mouth and down his chin. Even more blood was pouring out of the wound in his stomach, and onto the floor. The demon roughly pulled out the knife from Mr. Kuwabara's back, without the support he collapsed to the floor.

The demon studied the knife. "This is a special knife you know." he said evilly. "The demon who made it infused it with a special poison. The poison itself is extremely rare and the one demon who knows how to make it disappeared a long time ago. Its one of my favorites really. One minute your stabbing someone, the next minute they're nothing but a pile of dust." Mrs. Kuwabara listened in horror as she witnessed her husband slowly disintegrating from the stab wound out. Now she was sobbing and the tears fell on the pile of what used to be her husband, making mud. Sadistic happiness glowed in the demons eyes. He turned his gaze upon Mrs. Kuwabara. Silent tears fell down her face. Blinded by rage and agony, she attacked. She ran full force at the demon, who sidestepped at the last minute, having not expected her to attack. Naturally a strong person, and even stronger with the slight amount of spiritual power, Mrs. Kuwabara's fist hit the wall, leaving a rather large hole. She spun around, and with a cry of rage and pain, she attacked again. The demon dodged attack after attack, waiting for an opportunity. _"Brrring brrrring_..." The sound of the telephone ringing made Mrs. Kuwabara turn her head for just a second, but that small window was just the opportunity the demon was waiting for. The demon lunged, dagger hitting its target. A sense of déja vu passed through her as the demon removed the dagger from her stomach. Mrs. Kuwabara fell, blood pooling beneath her, as she looked up at the demon who looked so much like the one from before. "Brother will be most proud when he hears it was a success." The last thing Mrs. Kuwabara saw was the demon smiling sadistically, holding the blade. The demon turned to leave before a voice on the answering machine made him stop. "Hi mom and dad! It's me, Kazuma. I just called to tell you I love you before I forget to later. Love you! Bye!" The demon looked over the machine and smiled. 'Soon Kazuma,' he thought, 'it will be your turn.' With that the demon disappeared.

Shizuru was on her way back home. Something told her she had to hurry, but the groceries she was holding were slowing her down. Suddenly a feeling of loss washed over her so intensely it brought tears to her eyes. A terrible pain plagued her as the presence that connected her to her family was suddenly ripped from her soul. A scream like that of a wounded animal tore from Shizuru's mouth before she folded down, collapsing there on the sidewalk. She was only 5 minutes away from home.

Kazuma carefully hung up the phone, before racing back outside to find Yusuke. He was looking for a few minutes before a chill swept through his body- a ghost was near. It always meant a ghost was near. Kazuma turned around quickly at the sound of his name. His mother was running toward him, his father not far behind yelling at her to stop. "I never told him." she yelled. They both looked different- like something he had seen before... A girl who looked about the same age as his sister was following behind. She had light blue hair that was held back in a pony tail, and red eyes. The blue kimono she wore flew back behind her as she ran. "We have to leave NOW!" she was yelling. As everything fell into place, seven year old Kazuma Kuwabara passed out on the ground- 'I never told him' echoing in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

1 Sorry its so short. The next chapter will be even shorter but I'll try to make them longer after that. Also, I am having some problems coming up with names for the bad guys, so any suggestions would be really appreciated. Enjoy!!

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Three weeks had passed. Three long weeks since Kazuma Kuwabara had laughed or even smiled. He hardly slept, and he ate even less. The gentle tapping of the rain against the window threatened to lull him into a soothing sleep, but the same seemingly distant memories kept playing over and over again in his mind. His birthday had come and gone, but the usual delight for such an occasion was lost somewhere deep in his sorrow.

Yusuke had shown up the other day, but he wasn't supposed to know where Kazuma was staying. His new "family" had told him so, and Yusuke had stayed until he was forcibly removed from the house. Not even that had gotten a smile from the boy. How Yusuke had found out where he was, he did not know, and wasn't sure he wanted too. He hadn't heard from his sister at all. His "parents" refused to tell him anything of her whereabouts. All he knew was they didn't want any other children. His new family tried to get him to join in their activities, but he hadn't done as much as move from his "room". The lack of food and sleep left him sickly looking and thin. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, they now had a skeletal look to them. His hair had grown out a little, and it was as if his curls had lost their usual cheer. It was if the very light of his soul had gone out, and he wasn't even sure if it would ever come back.

Another day had passed in a similar fashion before exhaustion finally pulled Kazuma into a much needed healing sleep.

_DREAM..._

_Kazuma was stuck. Everything was white and he couldn't tell which direction he was going. Left could just have easily been right, and up seemed like it was down. Finally he gave up and just sat down, or at best he could tell he was. ..."WHY?" Startled, Kazuma looked for the source of what had just been spoken. But all he saw was a never ending white. ..."WHY?" Again the voice pleaded, "Why are you giving up? You promised!!!" The voice was now angry. Feelings of anger and pain washed over him. Even though the voice never spoke over a loud whisper, Kazuma felt as if the voice had been shouting. "Promised what?" A shaking, uneasy Kazuma asked as he unsteadily rose to his feet. "The Darkness! You said you wouldn't let the darkness get my soul, now your letting it...you promised..." The voice trailed off. Hurt replaced anger as the voice slowly disappeared into the ether. What was left of the frail boys heart broke. The pain felt so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time. A sobbing Kazuma_ said,_ "A promise is a promise, and I will keep it!"_ _By the time he was done he was yelling. "But how can I help you if I cant even help myself?" He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself. Overwhelming feelings of pain and loneliness for himself and the voice took over his body. "Because I Will protect you." Then it was gone and Kazuma knew no more._

The next day, Kazuma awoke feeling this unseen security and love wrapped around him. The pain of losing his family was still there, but it was somehow more bearable knowing someone was there and needed him. With a deadly determination, he walked down the stairs and ate for the first time in over three weeks.


End file.
